The Jammu and Kashmir Students Association on Sunday expressed “deep concern” over the suspension of 35 Kashmiri students from Mewar University, Chittorgarh, Rajasthan. In a statement, the national organizer of the organization, Nasir Khuehami, said that the students have been protesting for the past three days, “day and night”, due to the failure of the university to obtain the necessary permits from the Rajasthan Nursing Council (RNC). ) and the Indian Nursing Council (INC) for its BSc Nursing courses.
He said the absence of these important authorizations jeopardizes the future of students in their studies. “Instead of dealing with their problems and protecting their academic work, the university chose to suspend the students because of their reaction. This serious action is unacceptable and is a direct attack on the rights of students to raise their voice for justice,” he said.
According to the order issued by the Registrar of the university, 35 B.Sc. (Nursing) second-year students were suspended on Saturday “due to trouble and sad actions.” The order states that these students will not be allowed to enter the university premises until the order is issued. They were also ordered to leave at 8pm on Sunday.
Speaking to The Indian Express, the university’s Registrar Pradeep Dey described the issue related to the accreditation of the course as a “misunderstanding” and that the university has filed a case against the Rajasthan Nursing Council. He also said that the students will be investigated.
Khuehami said the association had been monitoring this issue for the past few months, when the university repeatedly assured students that permits would be available soon. Two months ago, the university secretary even made a written promise, assuring students that the issue would be resolved soon. However, despite these commitments, there is no visible progress, and now the university is asking for another month to resolve the issue. This delay is unacceptable and leaves the students with no choice but to protest, he said.
Khuehami went on to say that on October 18, the planned meeting with the manager of the university, which was intended to deal with the students’ complaints, did not go as planned, leaving the students frustrated. He said that in response to these protests, the university administration took punitive measures by suspending 35 students instead of taking serious steps to resolve the issue or keep their studies.